Social tension or conflict between household cats is common but, because it often manifests as subtle behavioral changes, it can go unnoticed; it is precisely because most signs are subtle and unrecognized that the term \'tension\' is used. Where associated tension-related chronic fear-anxiety leads to more overt behavioral concerns and stress-associated disease, cats may face relinquishment by caregivers or even euthanasia if the tension is not relieved. The \'2024 AAFP intercat tension guidelines: recognition, prevention and management\' have been authored by a Task Force of board-certified veterinary and applied behaviorists and clinical experts in feline medicine and behavior convened by the American Association of Feline Practitioners. The aim is to support veterinary professionals in understanding social behavior between cats and, more specifically, in recognizing intercat tension, preventing or minimizing its occurrence and managing the stressors. In developing the Guidelines, the Task Force has modified the five pillars of a healthy feline environment to provide a framework to assist the prevention or management of intercat tension in households with two or more cats. Because feline social behavior is often misunderstood, the Guidelines debunk 10 common myths that have the potential to negatively impact the wellbeing of companion cats. Extensively illustrated with visual examples of intercat tension and an Appendix detailing a number of case studies, the Guidelines also include a comprehensive table of psychotherapeutic medications, and a detailed algorithm that outlines a systematic approach to preventing, recognizing and resolving intercat tension. A step-by-step approach to introducing a new cat into a household with one or more resident cats is included to further support veterinarians, and a range of management tools to promote client education accompany the Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: The paper aims to establish the legal nature of the guidelines in the Polish legal system and the possible formal consequences of introducing such guidelines (litigation, professional responsibility) as well as practical implications concerning the method of treating patients.
METHODS: Analysis is clarifying fundamental issues that largely determine the content of the study. The basic assumption is to analyze the legal nature of the prepared guidelines from the point of view of public law, i.e. from the point of view of the relations occurring between the state, as the primary public law entity, and individual, private entities, such as natural persons, legal persons, or organizational units without legal personality, i.e., to be more precise, e.g., the relations between state authorities and persons practicing the medical professionConclusions:Treatment guidelines fall outside the scope of the universally applicable law subsystem. Therefore, they do not constitute sources of universally binding law. 2. Furthermore, the guidelines do not constitute sources of domestic law, as the issuing bodies have no legal authority to issue them and to mould the legal situation of their addressees. 3. In the regulations shaping the rules of practicing the medical profession, both statutory and corporate (the Medical Ethics Code), the guidelines may constitute the basis for adjudicating on the professional (disciplinary) liability of a physician. 4. The guidelines may pose a barrier to the development of medicine, especially in cases where their issuance by ad hoc groups and the lack of updates lead to the consolidation of outdated clinical practice and inhibit the research potential generated from the bottom up.